Response to Greenpeace open letter on oil and gas exploration

The Petroleum Exploration and Production Association of New Zealand (PEPANZ) has responded to an open letter from Greenpeace on oil and gas exploration, saying a ban would be a lose-lose for New Zealand and the global climate.

“A ban on exploration here would simply mean production shifting overseas. This would be a worse overall outcome for the environment given that natural gas has half the emissions of coal, and oil produced in New Zealand has a relatively lower emissions footprint than oil produced overseas,” says PEPANZ CEO Cameron Madgwick.

“New Zealand would then miss out on the economic benefits as well.

“We strongly agree that climate change is a major issue and we all need to reduce net emissions if we want to mitigate the worst impacts of a changing climate.

“However, New Zealand will run out of natural gas in 10 years without new discoveries or developments. This would likely mean having to import fuel from overseas at a higher cost to the 268,000 homes, businesses and community facilities who depend on it, and higher net emissions as well.

“Natural gas and oil provide half of the world’s energy and this is forecast to continue for decades to come. While more sources of energy are being developed there is no realistic way they can cover this demand in the immediate future.

“We need to have a serious discussion on how to lower our net emissions while meeting a growing demand for energy in an economically and environmentally rational way. Turning off half of our energy supply is just not a realistic solution.”